Shane to flex his muscles for Ireland
A BODYBUILDER from County Wexford – who dieted for six months for a competition – triumphed at the NBFI bodybuilding contest in Cork recently and has been selected to represent Ireland in the heavyweight class at the International Championships in England next month.
Shane McDonald, 27, from Campile, will be competing against the best ‘ heavyweight’ bodybuilders from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at the NBFI bodybuilding contest at the International Championships in England, October 22.
Shane has been training for the last eight years, and started competing in natural bodybuilding two years ago.
He said: ‘People generally associate bodybuilding with steroid usage, but natural bodybuilding is all about attaining the best possible physique with just diet and exercise.’
Shane overcame weight issues in his teens to become a champion bodybuilder. ‘I’ve been training for five years, and began training after struggling with my weight throughout my teens. I’m a huge advocate of natural body- building. It’s a very challenging but rewarding lifestyle.’
He said: ‘It’s a lifestyle that requires severe discipline, particularly during preparation for a competition. The diet lasted six months, with the goal of losing as much body fat as possible while maintaining as much muscle as possible. It’s as much mental challenge as it is physical, with gruelling training and cardio sessions every day, along with a low calorie diet that gets stricter with each passing week.’
The NBFI national championships were held in the Everyman Theatre in Cork, with about 70 competitors in the show. Two were selected to represent Ireland in the UKDFBA international championships in Coventry on October 22nd, with the possibility of qualifying for the world championships in Boston if successful.
‘ This was only my second time competing so to be selected to represent Ireland on the international stage is an achievement I’m hugely proud of. I work as a personal trainer and specialise in body transformations. I train clients one to one in my gym in Horeswood. I can be contacted via Facebook (Muscle Eire) or 0873619483.’